At Least She's Jewish
by cleanslate
Summary: The baby's final arrival.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** _I don't own anything. I'm borrowing the characters because they are awesome and they belong together._

_**AN:**_ _This is a one shot. I'm not sure how to throw my bid in for the Baby Mama Drama contest, or even if it qualifies, but I thought it would be fun to give it a shot._

Read and Review. I love it all. (:

**At Least She's Jewish**

Rachel stared at the box in her hand. There wouldn't be any denying it. There would be no need to squint to see if she just _thought_ she _might_ be seeing a second line in the little box, and there would be no twisting her head to the side to see if she thought that might be a shadow of a plus sign. She sucked it up and went hard core and bought the digital screen. It tells you, pregnant, not pregnant, there wasn't much in the way of error with that. You either are or your not. That's what she needed right now. She needed to know yes or no. She had some serious decisions to make with her life depending on the outcome of that little box.

Rachel looked up towards the end of the aisle. Noah was pacing back and forth at the end having declared himself too much of a badass to be on the same aisle as tampons. She walked toward him clutching her handheld basket like a lifeline. She gave him a shaky smile when she walked up to him and asked, "Are you ready?" Noah took a deep breath and walked Rachel to the counter and handed over the money. The lady behind the counter gave Rachel a small smile then looked at him and shook her head almost imperceptibly. Who the hell was she to judge? She didn't know anything about them. Rachel stopped him from saying anything with a touch of her hand; she thanked the lady and walked out of the automatic doors.

Noah and Rachel rode to her house in silence, walking up the stairs to her room solemnly. Her Dad looked up from his paper realizing that something was amiss, but he didn't want to step in just yet. Both of her Dads had some suspicions, but didn't want to confront them about it until they figured it out themselves. They had already discussed the possibilities between them. Now, they had to let Rachel and Noah figure things out on their own.

Rachel opened the bathroom door and let Noah walk in. They stared at the little hourglass on the screen. This would be the longest three minutes in their teenage life. Rachel clutched Noah's hand and squeezed, but if truth be told, Noah was holding on to Rachel just as tight.

Downstairs both of her father's waited silently knowing that this would be a turning point in everyone's life. Not matter what that test said; the ramifications would ripple through out their lives. Suddenly, there was a gut wrenching sob. Her Daddy was out of his chair in a flash, but her Dad held out his hand and shook his head. Her Daddy sat back down gingerly on the couch, ready to spring back up at an instant.

Rachel collapsed on the bathroom floor bawling, gasping for air and shudders wracked her body. Noah was on his knees beside her his arms wrapped around her and he hummed and whispered sweet nothings in her ear. Anything to make her stop crying, the last time he had seen a woman cry like this was the day he found his mom crying over his dad walking out. This was not something that he had ever wanted to see again, but he wouldn't just leave her here. This was his Rachel, his everything, his girlfriend, his lover, his confidant, his best friend. He didn't know what he would do with out her. Sometimes he secretly thought that Rachel had saved him from himself.

Turning in his arms Rachel's heart wrenching sobs slowed and she wrapped her arms around his neck softly crying and hiccupping into his shirt. Puck lifted her off the floor and laid her on the bed. Lying beside her Noah stroked her back and played with her hair and he told her how much he loved her and how nothing could ever change that. She made soft mewling noises in response and eventually they both calmed down enough to sleep.

After a couple of hours Rachel woke up and took a shower wanting to wash away the tear stains on her face. She put on her happy face and walked downstairs informing her dads that they would be having company for dinner. She walked back into the room and sat gently on the bed beside Noah and ran the back of her fingers along the side of his face, leaning down she kissed his cheek and told him it was time to wake up. She persuaded him to call his mom over for dinner.

No introductions were needed as the Berrys and the Pukermans had known each other for a while. Noah and Rachel had a rocky relationship in the beginning, but over the past year and a half things had smoothed out and their relationship had done nothing but grow. Everyone ate in relative silence; the tension in the air was palpable. Mrs. Puckerman couldn't remember a time when Noah had insisted on a "family" meal without some preparation time. She knew something was going to happen, she could only hope that they were announcing a wedding. She would hate to see her son go through what she had as a young parent.

After dessert, Noah stood up, holding Rachel's hand. He said "I just want you to know how much we love you guys and how much we appreciate how you have supported us in the past." Mrs. Puckerman starts to look relieved as this is starting to sound like a possible proposal. He continued, "We are going to need a lot more in the future". Mrs. Puckerman's heart fell into her stomach. "Rachel is pregnant."

You could have heard a pin drop. The look of disappointment on everyone's faces, a touch of astonishment mixed in with Noah's mom.

Mrs. Puckerman took a deep breath and smiled, "At least she's Jewish."

The rest of the night was the beginning of discussions on hard decisions that would have to be made, broken up with light hearted discussions of nursery colors and names.

Noah looked over at Rachel talking to his mom animatedly. Then saw the smile on her face when she caught him watching her. In that moment he knows no matter what, they are going to be ok.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Disclaimer:**_ _I don't own the characters, plot, show, blah blah. Wish I did, but I somehow doubt that will ever happen._

_**AN:**_ _Due to the phenomenal response I got to the story I have decided to try to make it a multi chapter story. I don't know how many chapters it will be, but it will span her entire pregnancy, and I promise no twist ending. (:_

Ch 2

Noah woke up to the sound of retching. He groaned and rubbed his hand over his face. He just could not understand how someone so small could throw up so much. He struggled to keep his eyes open and longed for the warmth of his pillow, but instead pushed himself off the bed. Noah approached the bathroom and peaked through the crack in the door where he could see Rachel on her knees in front of the toilet. Her arms were folded across the back edge and her head rested precariously on top of them. He could see her body still jerking from this latest late night session.

Barely knocking on the door, Noah pushed it open and walked through, "you ok?" he asked softly.

Rachel glared at him over her arm as if to say "What do you think?" Who the hell likes being up all night doing this? Rachel knew immediately that he hadn't deserved that look. He was only trying to check on her. She sighed and turned her body so that she could sit and lean back against the bathtub. "I'm sorry," she said as Noah handed her a cool wet rag and a cup of water, "I didn't mean to wake you up again."

Noah sat down beside her and pulled her against his body. "That's ok. We're in this together." He said then kissed the top of her head. After a few minutes Rachel hadn't felt the urge to hug the toilet again so he asked "You ready for bed?"

Rachel smiled weakly "I'm thinking of just putting a bed in here."

Noah chuckled and made a look of exaggerated concentration cross his face. "We may have to knock out a wall."

Rachel laughed and batted at his arm, "Just let me brush my teeth."

As Noah walked back to the bed Rachel splashed water in her face and avoided looking at herself. She knew that her eyes had formed dark circles beneath them and the look of stress had begun to etch its lines across her forehead. Quickly she brushed her teeth and ran a brush through her hair, then joined the already half asleep Noah in bed. When she crawled into bed Noah rolled over so that he could put his arm over her waist and rest his hand on her abdomen. She hadn't begun to show yet, but he was still amazed that they had crated a little person and that little person was so close, yet so far away. Noah moved his thumb in a small circular pattern on her belly and she could feel his breath in her hair. She didn't know she had gotten so lucky.

Rachel and Noah argued about telling their friends about the baby on the way to school from her house. She was only 8 weeks and she felt like she had time before she had to tell anyone. They had immediately told their parents, but somehow it felt different admitting something of this magnitude to people who didn't _have_ to love you and be there for you.

"We are gonna have to do it sometime." Noah argued as they walked towards the door of the school.

"I know" she said, "but I have a little more time. I just…People are so judgmental." She said.

Noah sighed, a sure sign of his defeat. He had seem the tears brimming in her eyes and he didn't want to push it anymore. He knew in a way she was right. She would be the one who would have to deal with the bulk of the criticism once word got around school. She was the one who would obviously become rounder with child. She would have to deal with the awkward looks and rude remarks more so than he would. She had never really had an easy high school life, mostly thanks to him, but even with her popularity firmly in place, she never quite felt like she belonged. He just hated lying to their friends.

Later that day, the other Glee members sat back and watched as Rachel and Noah talked quietly to one another after class. Of course there was no secret that they were a couple, that scandal had rocked the school over a year ago. Hell, once the shock had worn off they had topped Finn and Quinn as cutest couple. Kurt and Mercedes smelled another scandal though brewing. They couldn't quite put their finger on it, but something was in the air. Puck had been way over protective lately and he acted as though he had been surgically attached to her at the hip. She seemed tired all the time and had actually fallen asleep in Glee once while Mr. Shuester was talking. Puck had quickly taken up for her saying she had been dealing with some stuff at home. Mr. Shue had offered to set her up an appointment with Miss. Pilsbury, but she had politely declined choosing instead to have Puck drive her home early. Even the diva fits were back. She hadn't thrown one since Puck had smoothed out all their differences. Suddenly she had cried and ran out of the room more at least three times in as many weeks. Puck would roll his eyes at the class and shrug then go after her.

Kurt leaned into the group and said "Do you think they are arguing or something?"

Finn looked over his shoulder at the couple and back to them, "No, he would have said something, besides, I can't see Puck following her around like a lost puppy just to kiss up from pissing her off."

Tina agreed, "H-He's right. P-P-Puck loves her, even he w-w-wouldn't go that f-f-far."

"Maybe he cheated on her…" Mercedes said conspiratorially. Everyone gasped "Noooo." at the same time and stared over at Puck and Rachel who were now looking back at them with curious expressions on their face.

Mercedes couldn't hold it in any longer, "Did you cheat on my girl white boy?"

Rachel gasped at the horror of the accusation, covering her hands with her mouth. Puck went from curious to white hot anger in the blink of an eye.

"What the fuck?" he yelled headed straight for Mercedes. "Have you lost your mind?"

Rachel tried to grab his arm, but he was too quick.

"Where the hell did you get an idea like that?" he raged.

Finn stepped in front of Puck and stopped his descent on Mercedes. "We're just trying to make sure everything is ok with you guys." He said calmly.

Puck took his eyes off his target and stared down his best friend. "So you accuse me of cheating on my girlfriend? You do it right in front of her?" He asked with venom in his voice.

Artie piped up, "We're trying to figure out why you guys have been acting so strange."

Rachel stood on the outside of the group with a tear rolling down her cheek knowing tht she has to cross the point of no return.

"I'm pregnant." She said barely above a whisper.

Everyone gaped at her, not quite sure that they had heard her correctly.

"I'm sorry. Can you repeat that? Kurt said taking a step towards her.

Noah had been frozen to his spot at her quiet admission, but he shifted to move towards Kurt, but Finn stopped him with a firm hand on his shoulder.

Rachel took a deep breath and looked at Noah. "I'm pregnant" she said with a little more force.

Kurt and Brittney squealed in delight and Tina and Quinn joined them at Rachel's side demanding details ranging from how it happened to when she was due.

Finn gave his signature half grin and he patted Puck on the back. Matt and Mike each did the same, and Artie shook his hand with a goofy grin on his face too.

You got a long rode ahead of you, my man." Finn said.

Puck looked up and smiled, "It'll be worth it."

Finn's face fell and Puck turned to look in the direction of the class window just in time to see someone hurry through the shadows of the hallway.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Disclaimer: **__See the first 2 chapters_

_**AN: **__You guys are amazing! I hope you continue to enjoy the story. (: Please Read and Review it's the only way I know that I am keeping you happy and if not what I can do to fix it__**.**_

Chapter 3

It hadn't taken long to figure out who had been lurking in the shadows outside of Glee. Rachel and Noah had both received what seemed like a hundred texts on their phones from their friends warning them that Jacob had outted them on his blog.

Rachel had fought a major battle with Noah trying to convince him not to kill Jacob all that night and on the way to school the following morning. She had told him that Jacob wasn't worth the effort. In the mood he was in Noah took offense that she would question his badassness by thinking that he would actually have to use effort to stomp Jacob into the ground. Rachel just laughed at his misunderstanding and assured him that she was only thinking of the baby. When he gave her a questioning look she had said, "I would hate to have to take our child to visit you in prison because you assaulted Jacob while defending my honor." Noah had been satisfied with her response and had compromised, he wouldn't shed blood, but he would exact his pound of flesh.

That next day holding their heads high and walking through the front door hand in hand Rachel and Noah didn't know what to expect. Noah was ready to do battle with anyone who said a cross word or looked at Rachel sideways. Surprisingly they had been greeted with an overwhelming sense of goodwill. While some of the students had given them questioning looks, others had dared to approach them and tell them what a creep they thought Jacob was for revealing something so intensely personal.

Jacob had done his best to avoid both Rachel and Noah that day, but Noah had found and cornered him in a bathroom. Jacob was shaking and threatening to sue, but Noah held his hands up, palms out, "I'm not going to kill you." Noah said calmly, "I'm not even going to touch you."

"You're not?" Jacob managed to squeak out.

Noah turned around and walked towards the bathroom door, "today." He said with an evil grin then walked out the door.

Jacob stood there with a self satisfied grin on his face until Noah's words sunk in; he swallowed past the lump in his throat and began to shake again.

*

*

For weeks now Noah had made it a point to pop up somewhere Jacob was. He would randomly walk past a class and wait for Jacob to look up then wave, or he would follow him in the lunch line, like he was doing now. Jacob would shake nervously and stammer the whole time Noah was near him, wondering when he would strike.

Rachel sighed at the cafeteria table shaking her head.

"What's wrong Diva?" Kurt asked.

Rachel looked back from watching Noah breathe down Jacob's neck in line and said, "I almost wish he would just leave that poor boy alone. He obviously only writes that stupid blog for attention."

"Well, he certainly got Puck's attention." Mercedes laughed. "Yeah, he deserves it." Quinn said, "He's an evil little man."

Rachel laughed at that and said "Sometimes I think this is worse than if I had just let Noah pop him one good time."

Noah walked over and slid onto the seat next to Rachel, "What's up guys?

Quinn spoke up first, "I was just telling everyone that Finn and I were planning to see a movie tonight and I wanted to know if anyone wanted to join us."

Noah looked up from his tray, "When? Rachel has a doctor's appointment afterschool today so we wouldn't be able to meet up with you until later."

Quinn looked over at Rachel with a worried look, "Is everything ok?"

"Of course. It's just routine stuff, no big deal." Rachel said looking at Quinn. "You look so worried." Kurt jumped in "Because we're your family. Of course we worry."

Rachel could feel the tears burning behind her eyes. God, these hormones sucked. Noah didn't even look up; he just held a napkin in front of her, knowing what was coming. Rachel grabbed the napkin and mumbled thank you while dabbing at her eyes. Laughing shakily she said "I'm messing up my make up." Tina held up a small make up bag and said, "I g-g-got the bag here." The girls excused themselves from the table and led Rachel to the nearest "day spa".

"We'll see you guys in class" Brittney called over her shoulder to the guys.

The guys were getting used to the hasty retreat of the girls to fix up Rachel's hormone induced mascara melt downs. The guys all just raised their hands in a silent wave and continued discussing good times for everyone to meet up that night.

*

*

Later that day Noah stood at the head of Rachel's bed in the doctor's office. He was nervous and shifted from foot to foot as the doctor poked and prodded her in places only he had gone. Rachel felt a little self conscious, but had insisted that she would be fine. If Noah wanted to be in the room then she wasn't going to deny him the right.

"Maybe I'll skip this part next time." He mumbled as he tried to find someplace to stare on the wall, only to find diagrams of birthing babies and posters warning of the consequences of unprotected sex. In the end Noah settled on staring at his shoes until the doctor said she was finished.

The doctor rolled her chair back and stood up as Rachel got herself in a more comfortable position. "Now for the fun part." She said with a smile.

A few minutes later the doctor pressed something onto Rachel's stomach and a weird rhythmic beat filled the air.

Noah and Rachel stared at each other for a moment then looked at the smiling doctor. "That's your baby." She said, "Everything sounds great."

Noah and Rachel both listened in amazement at the heartbeat of their little baby. Again, Rachel's hormones took over and the onslaught of tears started. She looked over at Noah, who was trying to wipe away his tears before she could see them, and reached her hand up to touch his cheek. Noah brought her hand to his lips and kissed her palm, then walked out of the room to let her get dressed.

The doctor patted Noah on the shoulder and led him to the check out where he happily handed over the co pay. Thank God Rachel was still on her parents insurance.

Rachel dressed slowly still in awe of being able to hear the heartbeat. It had been the most beautiful sound she had ever heard. She jumped at the sound of a light tap on the door interrupting her thoughts.

"Come in." Rachel said slipping on her shoes.

"Everything ok?" the doctor asked.

"Yeah, that was amazing" Rachel said and the doctor just smiled at her. "Just wait 'til you get to see the baby."

*

*

Rachel and Noah finally made it to the pizza place that was near the theater and everyone was already there.

Kurt was the first to see them and stood up waving them over.

Kurt and Brittney pulled Rachel to their end of the table and Kurt bent down to Rachel's stomach and he waved, "Hello, in there baby." Rachel laughed, swatted him away and sat down. After Rachel got comfortable she said excitedly, "We got to hear the heartbeat." As if on que Kurt and all the girls squealed and tried talking over one another, asking questions about the appointment.

Rachel told them about how great Noah had been by going into the room with her. How they had both been surprised by the heartbeat and how she had cried like a baby when the doctor had told them what it was. Everyone laughed at that and rolled their eyes.

"Did Puck cry too?" Quinn asked joking. The whole table fell silent waiting on the answer.

Noah met Rachel's gaze when he heard Quinn's question. He had been telling the guys about how no matter where you looked in the room you saw pictures and models of babies inside stomachs and how there was even one that showed the "actual size" when the head came out. All the guys had matching looks of horror.

"Dude, It is definitely not for the faint of heart." He had just said when Quinn's question popped up out of no where.

"There was something in my eye." Noah said grudgingly.

Rachel laughed and blew him a kiss across the table. The girls ooh'd and ahh'd over Puck's tears and the guys razzed him a little.

The group continued to talk and eat laughing into the night not caring that they had missed the movie. They had come along way from their beginnings and they each reveled in their still new friendships.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Disclaimer:**__ Don't own it, wish I did_

_AN1: Thanks for all of your reviews! You have become my muse. Please, Please, keep reviewing._

_AN2: Sorry, I saw a lot of things I needed to fix after I posted this the first time. I tried to snatch it down and repost immediately. Please don't kill me. Content wasn't changed just some spelling errors that were killing me. _

Chapter 4

Saturday morning Rachel woke up in a good mood which was surprising for her. She didn't feel sad or overwhelmed. She almost felt human again. After stretching in bed and enjoying the feeling of a good night's sleep Rachel slipped out of bed and waited for the urge to run to the bathroom to overcome her. It never came and she smiled to herself. It had been two weeks with barely a sign of morning sickness and she mentally cheered. Slowly she wandered into the bathroom to perform her usual routine, and then opened her closet door. There she was faced with a full length image herself and she gasped. Her eyes were round with shock and her hands automatically went to her stomach. When she managed to tear her eyes away from the mirror she immediately called Kurt.

*

*

Noah looked over at the woman standing in the doorway of her house. She was a regular client and he took his position seriously. He knew that he only retained her services because her husband thought he was an excellent pool boy and she couldn't explain to him the real reason why she would want a new one. Noah had cut off all funny business with the ol' cougar when he and Rachel had decided to give their relationship a real go. Now she just liked to stand and watch him work while sipping on her fruity drinks. Noah just shook his head while skimming the top of the water and scooping up the leaves. It was actually kind of creepy having her stare at him all the time.

Noah's phone vibrated in his pocket, he flipped it open to see a text from Rachel.

Shopping with the girls. I heart U.

Noah smiled and sent a short response and laughed. This could only mean one thing. Kurt was picking up the girls and taking them to the mall.

*

*

Kurt enacted the emergency tree after he hung up the phone with Rachel. He called Brittney; she called Quinn, and so on. Within half an hour Rachel was surrounded by the more feminine half of the Glee club. Everyone was standing in a semi circle around Rachel murmuring.

"I just don't understand how this happened." Rachel said looking down.

Mercedes laughed and said, "I think we have already established that."

Rachel rolled her eyes and said, "I meant this." indicating her belly, which had still been flat yesterday, "I thought this was supposed to be gradual."

"This is gradual" Quinn said, "You aren't huge yet."

"We'll fix this." Kurt said rubbing his hands together. "Its nothing a day of shopping can't fix."

Brittney started sifting through her closet and drawers looking for a fix to the most immediate problem. After searching for what seemed like forever they settled on a pair of low rise jeans that sat below her new belly. They still zipped, but Mercedes covered the offending button with a colorful scarf as a belt. They finished off her look with one of Noah's loose fitting t-shirts as her fitted ones were no longer an option.

Kurt looked at her and tried to cover his look of distaste. "You're passable, but we seriously need a fashion overhaul like a s a p. We don't need this rubbing off on our future diva."

*

*

Rachel's parents having been privy to the initial screech of horror had happily given over a credit card and a limit. She had smiled and hugged each of them, kissing them on the cheek. They had been much cooler about all of this than she had anticipated, but she could only think that it was because they had lived a hard life because of the choices they had made and that she would now be following their path.

*

*

Noah sat at his mom's kitchen table. It wasn't often she had a weekend day off and he wanted to spend time with her. He knew how hard she worked to raise he and his sister. He appreciated her more than she would ever understand and he appreciated even more the fact that she was accepting of the situation that he and Rachel were now in.

"You've been busy." His mom said as she sat down plates with sandwiches in front of him and her spot.

"Yeah, business is good." He mumbled before taking a bite watching his mom fidget and push around the chips on her plate.

Finally she just came right out and asked, "Are you gonna marry her?"

Noah's automatic reaction was to bristle up and get defensive, but he just sighed and said, "Would that be such a bad thing?"

His mom let out the breath she had been holding. She had fully expected for him to get up from the table and walk out. He could be bristly at the best of times; Rachel was slowly smoothing out his rough edges. "What? No. No, you know how much I love her."

"She says she's not ready yet." He told his mom. She looked at him with a raised brow. "Something about how we aren't ready for a baby. We shouldn't pile not being ready to get married on top of it." His mom continued to look at him waiting for more.

"Then she says that if we get married, it's going to be because I love her and not because she is having my baby." He said sounding a bit frustrated.

Noah's mom nodded her head and said "ok" as she cleared the dishes from the table. He stood up and walked to his room turning on the stereo and laying on the bed.

*

*

Oh, my God Rachel, would you hurry up? Kurt asked.

"I can't help it" Rachel yelled back through the door. A few second later they heard a toilet flush, water run, and the door to the bathroom flung open. "You try having a baby use your bladder as a pillow." She huffed as Kurt ushered her back through the store.

The girls had already commandeered a dressing room for her and were filling it with things to try on.

As she donned different outfits and pranced around for them to see how it fit Brittney asked, "So, is Noah living with you now?"

Everyone stopped what they were doing to hear her answer, but she turned and walked back into the dressing room.

"Yeah. You h-h-have a lot of his s-s-stuff lying around." Tina said.

Rachel flung a shirt over the top of the door and smiled at the thought of Noah. "Not officially." She said

"Explain." Mercedes said grabbing the offending top from off the door.

"Well, I guess my dads figure that the worst is already done. All they said was that he needs to be a contributing part of the family." She said as she walked out modeling another outfit.

What the hell does that mean?" Quinn asked, and then said, "That's a keeper." She pushed Rachel back into the little room as everyone agreed.

"They just want him to keep a job, stay in school, that kind of thing. He can't be a leech. They said that this is our baby. We have to take care of it. While they are happy to help out if needed they aren't just going to give us hand outs."

As she stepped out again in a new outfit she looked down and made a face. Kurt looked horrified and pointed to the stall again.

"That sounds reasonable." Kurt said.

*

*

When Noah got back to Rachel's house he saw a bunch of cars lined up outside, he walked through the yard and he could hear laughter and music drifting from her room. Noah smiled and wondered what he was going to walk into. What he walked into was massive amounts of bags and tissue paper littered across the floor. There were plastic tubs that held what looked like Rachel's wardrobe in it. Confused he looked around the room looking for Rachel. His mouth dropped when he turned towards the bathroom door and Rachel walked out wearing a cute little skirt and a form fitting top. His eyes worked their way from the floor up. All of the Glee members were silent as they watched Noah walk over to Rachel. He put his hands on her now protruding belly and whispered "That's my baby.", and then leaned down giving Rachel a tender kiss. All of the girls squealed in delight and Kurt clapped his hands together saying "Let's get this mess cleaned up and leave the love birds alone."


	5. Chapter 5

_**Disclaimer:**__ I own nothing, no matter how often I wish on a star. (:_

_**AN:**_ _You guys are the BEST!! Please keep reviewing. The more you review the more I am inspired. Its amazing how that works. Lol... (: I'm glad you guys are enjoying it!_

Chapter 5

Rachel was walking through the hallway of WMHS when she felt the first twinge. It felt like a small sharp needle of pain in her pelvic area and upper thighs, she didn't think much about it, but later the pain seemed to get worse. Finally, upset and scared, Rachel found Noah in his English class.

Noah didn't waste time letting the office know what was going on, he just scooped her up and carried her to the car.

Noah insisted that he take her to her doctor's office. She was scared and hurting and didn't want to become some anonymous patient at an emergency room.

Noah carried her through the door and walked up to the reception desk. The nurse hurried Rachel into a room and helped her change into a gown, taking her vitals as they went along.

The doctor came in and gave Rachel a small smile. After a cursory examination, the nurse was sent to fetch Noah.

"Is everything ok?" he asked clearly panicked.

"Everything is fine." She said calmly. "It's actually quite normal to feel some pain. Some people just seem to experience more so than others."

"What's happening?" Rachel asked still not convinced that she was alright.

The doctor patted her arm and explained that her hips were beginning to widen to prepare for child birth. "Sometimes you will feel twinges of pain or just mild discomfort."

Noah sighed in relief. He had been terrified that Rachel was going to lose the baby.

"You know what?" the doctor said, "Since you are already here, why don't we go ahead and do your ultrasound. You are scheduled for one next week anyway right?

Noah and Rachel looked at each other and smiled nodding their heads in agreement.

As the doctor started pulling the equipment to the bed Rachel called her dads and let them know she was ok. Noah called his mom and Finn. Finn was still in Glee so he put Noah on speaker phone letting him update everyone at once. Noah gave a quick explanation then hung up the phone.

Rachel was already leaning back on the bed with her belly exposed. Noah quickly moved behind the bed so he could get a better view of the little screen.

Rachel jumped at the cold gel and laughed when she felt something bump against the inside of her stomach.

"I think the baby kicked." Rachel said excitedly.

"Is that the first time you felt it?" the doctor asked.

"I thought I felt something once before, but it was so quick I thought I had imagined it."

"There's your baby." The doctor said pointing to the screen.

"The head, arms, legs" she said tracing each part with her finger.

Noah and Rachel stared in wonder at the baby moving around. They watched as the baby extended its tiny leg and Rachel said, "It happened again."

Noah laughed as he watched the baby kick Rachel. He had never felt so happy before in his life.

"Oops." The doctor said and Noah looked at alarmed.

"No need for worry" she reassured him and continued, "Do we want to know the baby's sex?"

Both Noah and Rachel answered without hesitation. "Yes."

*

*

Kurt called on her cell as she and Noah were on their way home. He asked if she wanted meet up with Glee for a group dinner. Rachel declined telling him that they were having an "emergency" family meeting to discuss the doctor's visit. Rachel let it slip to Kurt that they found out the sex of the baby and he pressed her for details. Finally after much debate Rachel convinced him that she would bring pictures and make the announcement at Glee tomorrow.

"It's a girl right? " Kurt asked giving it one last shot.

*

*

Rachel was helping her dads in the kitchen slice tomatoes and tear lettuce while Noah was on the back patio flipping burgers on the grill. When she heard the doorbell ring Noah's sister ran to the door. Rachel could hear the distinct voices of her Glee friends getting closer to the kitchen. She watched in amazement as Mike and Matt walked through the kitchen holding opposite ends of a cooler and walk out the back door.

Rachel was still standing knife in hand when Kurt came bounding through the doorway. He saw her stunned look and mimicked her facial expression while saying, "You said family dinner."

Rachel looked at him with a hint of a smile and said slowly, "I did."

"We've had this discussion before Rachel." He huffed, "We are family too."

Rachel laughed and looked at the activity going on around her. Quinn and Tina had shooed her dads out of the kitchen and had taken over the food preparation. Finn was wheeling Artie through the backdoor, his lap full of extra meat, cheese , and bags of chips.

Brittney walked behind them and held out a huge cheesecake. "I don't know about you guys, but I still cringe at the thought of cupcakes." She said with a small smile. "So I bought this instead."

Rachel smiled, dangerously close to becoming a mess of hormones again.

Kurt sat primly at the kitchen table and asked, "So did we miss the big announcement?"

"No." Rachel flashing him her trademark smile.

*

*

After dinner Rachel and Noah decided to start passing around the ultrasound pictures.

"Um, is the baby flipping us off?" Finn asked quietly, tilting his head to the side trying to look from a different angle.

"Hell Yeah! My son is already a badass!" Noah said barely containing his excitement.

Everyone gasped and looked over to Rachel's belly. Noah couldn't contain his smile, but said "I'm sorry Rachel. I didn't mean…"

Rachel laughed, "Its ok. I can't think of a better way to have told them." With that Noah walked over and kissed Rachel on the forehead rubbing her belly with the palm of his hand.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I own nothing.. Only borrowing everything for a bit and spinning it my own way.

AN: I just wanted to say again that you guys are amazing! I really enjoy reading your reviews. It's the best part of my day. Thank you also to everyone who has put me on author and story alerts, favorite stories and for whoever put me in a community. You guys really know how to make a girl feel special. (:

AN2: Someone asked about Santana. I guess up to this point she hasn't really struck me as a major character (not to say Brittney is either) in the show, but I may try to write her in sometime soon just so everyone knows what she is up to in my mind.

Please enjoy this chapter. READ and REVIEW PLEASE!!! (:

Ch. 6

Rachel was the first to wake up Sunday morning. She felt the continuous kicks of the baby and she could no longer sleep through it. Rachel opened her eyes and looked down at her stomach in time to see Noah's hand jump with a kick. She chuckled and whispered his name. Noah just groaned and tightened his grip trying to pull her closer to him and buried his face in her hair. Noah felt his hand bounce against Rachel's belly and looked up over her shoulder. Rachel chuckled and said "I think he wants you to get off me."

"We'll just see about that." Noah growled and rolled her onto her back giving her a kiss. "Good morning." He said against her lips.

"Good Morning to you" she said as he leaned down and placed a kiss on her stomach.

*

*

Not long after Rachel and Noah started moving around in the kitchen they heard a light knock on the door, then Finn and Quinn trudged in. Quinn headed straight for the coffee pot while Finn started scavenging for food. A few minutes later Artie and Tina came through the door loaded down with preparations for breakfast. Not long after Brittney, Mike and Matt came in. No one really bothered knocking anymore as long as the door was open. Sunday morning breakfasts had become a ritual. No one really knew how it started it just sort of happened and everyone just went with it.

Rachel's dads shuffled through the kitchen door, laughing at the site of all the teenagers lounging in their kitchen. Rachel's Daddy looked over at her Dad and said, "I think we need a bigger table."

"Morning." Rachel said to her dads as they side stepped the kids making their way to the coffee. Quinn met them in the middle with one steaming cup each. They took the cups and smiled gratefully where they headed to the table and Mike and Matt cleared out giving them space.

H-H-Hungry? I'm making p-p-pancakes." Tina said smiling.

Her dads smiled and nodded there approval.

Just as everyone was filling their plates they heard the front door opening and Mercedes said "We better not have missed anything."

Kurt bounced into the kitchen looking as chipper as usual saying "Ok all, the party can start now. Kurt is here." He made his way over to Rachel to air kiss her cheek and stared at Noah until he growled then stood giving Kurt his spot.

"Thank God!" Mercedes said joining the makeshift buffet line, "Diva boy couldn't decide what to wear."

"There is always time for fashion, Love." He said matter of factly. Mercedes just rolled her eyes and passed him a plate.

"So what do you guys have planned today? Rachel's Daddy asked.

Everyone started talking at once then started laughing. Noah took charge and said "Rachel and the girls are…"

"And me." Kurt piped in.

Noah rolled his eyes, "and Kurt, are going to go buy some baby stuff with that money my grandmother sent her for it."

Rachel's dads nodded their heads, "And what do you guys have planned?" he asked.

Again, Noah answered, "We are going to clean out that room upstairs next to Rachel's and get it painted."

"Good idea." her dad said.

"What are you guys doing?" Brittney asked.

"Well," her Dad said looking around taking in all the kids leaning against the counter tops and sitting at the table or in random chairs they had pulled in from other rooms. "We've been talking and we decided that now is as good a time as any to remodel the kitchen."

The kids all stared at him blankly. Her Dad laughed and said gesturing to all of them, "We need to make room for a bigger table."

Rachel's Dad looked around at all of the kids in his kitchen. Over the past almost two years Rachel's friends had slowly become part of their family, since Rachel's pregnancy even more so. He and his partner had always wanted more children, but had been lucky with the adoption of Rachel. It had been a long hard battle because of their family dynamic. In the end they had decided not to drag their daughter through the emotional turmoil of trying to adopt another baby. They would be grateful for the one that they had already been blessed with. Now looking around the room he knew that they had been blessed with another kind of family and for better or worse they would stand by each of their makeshift children if they were ever needed.

The girls all hugged her dads as they walked out the door to Kurt's truck. They all turned back, waved and said "Bye Dads" as they climbed into the truck.

"We have a great group of kids don't we?" Her Dad said to Daddy. He just nodded his head in response and closed the door.

*

*

Noah and the guys pulled Artie up the stairs. It wasn't the easiest task, but they weren't going to exclude him from the clean-up crew. They started breaking down the bed and packing boxes as Artie took up a sort of supervisory roll, making sure everyone was on task.

"So you guys pick out a name yet?" Finn asked.

Noah rolled his eyes as he taped up a box. "Nah. She wants to name the kid Fifi, or Fluffy or some shit like that." Noah grunted lifting the box.

Finn looked at him in shock, "He's not a dog, Dude."

"I know, man. I'm kidding for the most part." He said as Finn followed him to the attic with a box of his own.

They met Mike at the attic stairs and since he was already half up the ladder Noah and Finn passed their boxes off to him to put up.

"She can't make up her mind. She goes through, like, fifty names a day. I'm at a point now, where I don't even care. I just wish she'd pick one and stick with it." He said walking back to the room to pick up the last of the boxes.

"You don't get a say in it?" Finn asked with amusement in his voice.

Noah looked at Finn and said, "It's not Fluffy is it?" and smiled.

*

*

Kurt and the girls got to the store and headed directly to the comforters and room décor.

"Any ideas?" Quinn asked looking around at the overwhelming number of choices.

Rachel looked at the group and laughed as she repeated Noah's words, "Nothing "fluffy"" she said using air quotes as she said the word fluffy.

Mercedes laughed and said "Once a badass, always a bad ass."

After oohing and ahhing over several different designs, one appropriately named "baby noah" and another called "pop star" they settled on the "sports fan" collection.

After purchasing the 6 piece crib set and a new mattress for the crib Noah's mother had given them, they headed out the door with Kurt flirting heavily with the worker that carried the mattress out for them.

"Have you guys decided on a name yet? I think Kurt would be a great one. I'm just sayin'." He said smiling.

"I don't even want to think about names." Rachel replied. "The ramifications that a name could have on a child are endless. You aren't just trying to find the right name, but you are trying to find the right name with the least amount of possible nicknames that some stupid kid can come up with to torture your child." Rachel leaned her head back against the seat and sighed, "And don't get me started on Noah."

Everyone laughed and told her it couldn't possibly be that bad.

"He wants to name our kid, Damien or Damon, or Devlin, or some crap like that." She said frustrated. "I know they aren't bad names, but they just sound so evil."

"S-S-So he doesn't want fluffy and you d-d-don't want evil." Tina laughed, "T-T-This should be g-g-good."

After a long day of shopping all Rachel wanted to do was sit down and put her feet up. Her ankles were starting to swell and she was tired. When she got home though, she was assaulted by the smell of paint fumes. The guys came down stairs pulling Artie along at the sound of Kurt's truck pulling up the driveway. They came face to face with Kurt and the girls holding their noses looking at each other with horrified expressions.

Noah walked up to Rachel and put his arm around her shoulders and kissed her temple.

"We gotta stay with Mom for a couple days." He said indicating the overnight bag he held in his hand.

"You think?" she asked sarcastically, the words muffled by the hand over her mouth.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Noah's mom was at work when they entered the house and his sister was at a friend's house. Rachel was apprehensive. She knew it was a little ridiculous to feel that way. Noah's mother had been nothing but nice and understanding to her and towards their situation. It was just unnerving to think that she would now be staying in her home, even if just for a few days. Rachel was too tired to examine her emotions. All she really wanted to do was sit down, or maybe take a nap.

Noah unlocked the front door and followed Rachel into the house kicking the door shut behind him. He knew she was nervous. His mom wasn't as open as her fathers and he knew that Rachel wasn't sure how to act around her. That's not to say that his mom was a bad person, far from it. She was just as loving and caring as her dads were, but she didn't carry her emotions on her sleeve. It just created a situation that was out of Rachel's comfort zone.

Noah took Rachel to his room. She had been there a hundred times before, but somehow this time felt different. She looked at him with big doe eyes and he leaned down to kiss the tip of her nose.

"It's fine Rachel." Noah reassured her. "Lay down." He told her pushing her lightly towards the bed. "I know you're tired."

Rachel nodded and crawled under the blankets and Noah slid in right behind her. He had a hard day working on the baby's room and a nap sounded like a good idea to him too.

*

*

Rachel woke up with a jerk. She looked around confused for a moment, and then almost instantly realized where she was. She looked over at the clock; it showed 5:30pm. Ugh! She had slept much longer than she had intended. She could hear low sounds coming from the other side of the door. Rachel stood up, stretched then rifled through her bag looking for her brush. She ran the brush through her hair quickly taking deep breaths in order to steady her nerves. She wasn't sure why she was so nervous. His mother loved her, and she loved his mother, but she had never spent the night in her house with her son. It was just a weird situation.

Rachel opened the bedroom door slowly and was greeted with the smell of food, her stomach immediately rumbled and she rubbed her belly whispering, "I hear you sweetie."

Noah saw Rachel walk into the kitchen and gave her a small smile, "You feeling better?"

"Much." Rachel said grabbing a small cherry tomato sitting in a bowl on the counter.

"Hungry?" he asked laughing at the look of pleasure on her face.

"Starved." She said after she swallowed. "Where's your mom?" she asked having noticed that she hadn't seen her yet.

"Shower. She'll be out in a minute and then we'll eat." He said just as his sister rounded the corner sliding into the kitchen in her socks.

"Rachel!" she exclaimed and threw her arms around Rachel.

"Hey!" Rachel said smiling down at her, "How's school?"

Noah's sister smiled and went into a long diatribe about all the things happening in her class.

After a few minutes Noah's mom came through the kitchen door and smiled at Rachel, giving her a hug.

All through dinner Noah's mom asked questions about how school was and how the baby was. She tried not to act like the fact that his son having a very pregnant girlfriend bothered her. She smiled and laughed and talked, but inside she kept wondering what kind of life either of them would have now. She would never suggest adoption, she was proud that they were taking responsibility for their actions, but she understood the consequences of being a young parent more than Rachel's fathers did and it worried her for them, a lot.

After dinner, Rachel cleaned the dishes over his mother's protest of Rachel being a guest in her home. Rachel insisted and Noah's mother relented after noticing Noah's subtle defensive face change. He knew that neither of the women were trying to make the others life more difficult, but he could see them both walking on eggshells and it was a little upsetting. He wanted Rachel to feel like this was her home like he felt in hers. It was disappointing that his mother kept pointing out that she was a guest there. He was going to have to talk to her.

*

*

The next morning Rachel was in the middle of pulling on a cute fitted t-shirt that she had bought recently. She was still sometimes self conscious about wearing things that showed her bulging belly like that, but everyone assured her that she was still hot and she had relented to Kurt and Mercedes fashion advice. As she was pulling the shirt over her head Noah's mother walked through the door.

"Noah… Oh! Rachel. I'm so sorry. I forgot." She stuttered as she turned and walked back towards his bedroom door.

"It's ok." Rachel said quickly as she tugged the material over her belly. Thank God she had put her jeans on first this morning. "Noah's in the shower. Did you need something?"

"I was just going to give him this." She said handing her some cash. "I was going to ask if he would stop by the store and pick up some groceries after school on his way home." She said, "I really am sorry, I'm just…"

"Not used to having another girl in Noah's room." Rachel finished for her with a weak smile. "I understand. It's ok."

"Rachel…" Noah's mom began, "I just..." Rachel stood and waited for her to collect her thoughts. "There's just so much that I am still trying to get used too. I mean… I know you're pregnant. I know you're carrying my son's child. I'm not under a delusion that Noah wasn't doing….this…" she said flipping her hand towards the bed, "before….this…" she continued pointing to Rachel's belly, clearly uncomfortable and not sure how to say what she wanted to stay.

"It's ok Ms. Puckerman." Rachel said, "I can see that this makes you very uncomfortable. I'm a little unnerved myself. If it'll help I can stay in another room or even stay at a friend's house. I just want us to all be ok."

Noah opened his mouth to protest. He had seen his mother standing in his bedroom door talking to Rachel. He had walked quietly towards them until he could here what was being said. Before he could say anything his mother stepped into his room and said, "No. No. Absolutely not. That's not what I meant." She walked across the room and sat down on the corner of Noah's bed. She took Rachel's hand in hers and pulled her gently down beside her. "It's just that it's sometimes easy to forget that he is growing up. "His mom said with a bit of a sniffle. "I just love him so much and when he announced the pregnancy I instantly thought of all the hard times I went through and am still going through." She took a breath and continued, "This is going to be hard, you are starting out behind and it sometimes takes a long time to get caught back up." After taking another shaky breath she said sounding a bit hurt, "To be honest. It's sometimes easy to forget that you are even having a baby. Noah has slowly moved to your house and while he still stops by frequently, he never seems to bring you along. Then when I see you its like I'm finding out that you are pregnant all over again."

Rachel had tears running down her face and she threw her arms around his mom's neck, "I'm sorry too Ms. Puckerman. I swear I'll do more. I shouldn't expect Noah to become part of my family and then not give as much to his. It was thoughtless of me." Noah's mom leaned back and looked Rachel in the eye and smiled, "You can call me mom.", then hugged her tight again. "I've never had a mom", Rachel said quietly.

Noah didn't want to break up the bonding moment, but he knew that his mom was going to be late for work and they were going to be late for school if all of them didn't pick up the pace. Sneaking quietly back down the hall Noah opened the bathroom door quietly then shut it loud enough to hear in his bedroom. When he walked back down the hall his mom came out of his room and waved a hand towards him then headed out the front door. He walked into his room and saw Rachel dabbing her eyes. "Everything ok?" She flashed him her luminous smile and said "Everything is perfect."


	8. Chapter 8

AN: You guys are so wonderful!! The reviews are awesome and they make me so happy. I look forward to checking my email regularly now. (:

AN2: Here is a little more family goodness. I must be inspired by the holidays. Lol.. It won't be much longer now, just a few more chapters I think.

**Please continue to Read and Review**. I may not respond to all of them, but I do read them all and I appreciate every single one.

Chapter 8

Rachel and Noah had originally planned to stay at his mother's house for two or three days, but with her Dads' revelation about remodeling the kitchen they stayed for a little over two weeks. Surprisingly the remodeling was done rather quickly due to Mike's dad owning a construction company, and with the Glee guys helping it was done in no time flat.

Rachel and Noah's mom used the time to foster their new bond and they grew closer. Rachel spent nights sitting at the kitchen table with Noah's mother talking about the future and planning out the baby's new room.

Noah spent the weeks going to school, working and helping her fathers with their project when he could. He would come home to a hot meal and crash out while his mother and girl friend talked about what he had deemed girly shit. Every morning though he would wake up with Rachel snuggled up next to him and it reminded him that all his hard work was worth it.

Since her fathers' inspiration for the sudden need to remodel the house was all of the "kids" they thought that it was only fitting to unveil it during a Sunday morning breakfast. None of the girls had been allowed to step foot near the construction during the remodeling and although the guys had helped with the actual work they had not yet seen the final product of their labor.

Rachel slowly packed her bags. She had sent Noah back to the house during the weeks to fetch more stuff since her dads didn't want her around the mess, fearing for the safety of her and their future grandson. Noah walked up behind her wrapping his arm around her and kissing her head.

"You ready? He asked.

He smelled of Axe's Dark Temptation and she breathed in deeply wanting to melt against him. She just loved that body wash. She turned in his arms and kissed him full on the mouth.

"Yes, but if you don't get away from me, we won't be going anywhere." With that she kissed him again, standing on her tip toes and leaning forward as her belly got in the way now and forced Noah to lean his head down to meet her. Just as Noah was ready to pick Rachel up and deposit her back in bed both of their phones started to vibrate. Noah groaned and Rachel blushed as if she had been caught red handed. He loved that about her. She was carrying his baby, the not so subtle proof of their love and she still blushed like a school girl.

Both Rachel and Noah looked at their phones then at each other with quizzical expressions.

*

*

Noah slowed in front of Rachel's house and pulled into the driveway. Everyone was either on the front porch or milling about in the yard. Noah walked to the passenger side to help Rachel out of the truck and then they walked over to the group together.

"What's going on? We got your texts." Noah said.

"Why is everyone out here?" Rachel asked confused.

Finn just pointed to the door and said, "Read that."

Rachel walked up the stairs of the porch and saw a note taped to the door:

Do Not Enter Under Penalty of Death

All Of Our Children MUST Enter TOGETHER!

Noah just laughed and Rachel rolled her eyes. She could totally see her Daddy sitting at the computer typing that up while laughing at his own mischief. Yep. There he was peeking out the front window with a huge grin on his face, waving at them through the window.

"The baby's hungry Daddy." Rachel whined at the window.

The curtain closed and a minute later the door opened a crack and a package of Pop-Tarts was waved out.

Finn looked at the guys and said, "We can totally take him." The guys laughed and Rachel snatched the pop-tart and the door was quickly shut and locked.

Immediately her Daddy was smiling out the window at them again. "I have a key you know." Rachel said dangling her keys in the air.

"Don't spoil the fun Pum'kin." Her Daddy called out. She laughed and turned to everyone and shrugged her shoulders. Just then Mercedes and Kurt screeched to a halt in front of her neighbor's house.

Kurt bounced over, "They should see about getting a bigger driveway too." He said smiling and waving at everyone.

Rachel laughed and watched as her Dad turned out of the window, she could here the rattle of the door lock, and then the door swung open. Both of her Dads were standing there grinning ear to ear. "Come see." Rachel's Dad said.

Everyone walked into the living room and walked to what had been the kitchen, the group gasped collectively and they all stood in awe. Her Dads had knocked out the connecting wall of the kitchen with the dining room, making one large room. Where there had been oak cabinets, there now stood glass front cabinets, and all of the appliances were black and stainless steel. A new island stood where there had once been a counter and the dominating force in the room was a huge custom made round table, and in the center of the chairs that surrounded the table was a beautiful black highchair with a light blue cushion. Rachel held her hands in front of her face and walked slowly to the highchair and turned back to her Dads. She rushed over to them and threw her arms around both of them. Rachel was quickly followed by the other girls and everyone quickly found a seat.

Her Daddy was still grinning, "Check this out." He said reaching for the middle of the table where there were steaming bowls of scrambled eggs and sausage and gravy were sitting and turned it spinning the food from side to side. Everyone laughed and reached out to try it. "It's called a Lazy Susan. We thought it would be perfect with so many people eating."

After breakfast her Dads suggested that they go up stairs and set up the baby's room. Her dads insisted that they would do the clean up and everyone was to go up. Since they were already in the kitchen everyone walked to the stair well that was connected to the back laundry room.

"Oh my God! Artie!" Rachel exclaimed.

"What?" He said rolling up behind her then stopped in shock. There in front of him was a ramp beside the stairs leading up.

Everyone turned around and saw her dads standing there watching. Artie rolled over to them and said, "Thank You so much. I'd give you a hug, but…" he paused wiping his eyes. Her Daddy reached down and hugged him and her Dad shook his hand. Her dad looked at the ramp and said, "It's a little steep, you'll still need help up."

Finn cut in with, "Better than carrying him up there chair and all." The guys laughed and Matt grabbed the handles on the back of his chair, "Let's test this puppy out." He said pushing him up the incline.

Rachel walked up the stairs followed by the rest of the group walking down the hall to where her son's room would be. The door was shut; she reached to open it, turning back and making the comment that there was so much to do.

"What are you talking about girl?" Mercedes said with a confused look on her face.

Rachel turned around and looked at her son's room. It was painted a soft blue with a darker trim. The crib had been assembled and the crib set had been put on. There was a matching changing table on the opposite wall and a book shelf beside it, with four framed pictures. The first was of Rachel and her Dads sitting out on the porch together. Noah had taken it when they had first started dating; the second was of Noah his sister and his Mom. The third picture was of Rachel sitting in Noah's lap his arms wrapped around her, Rachel's head was tossed back as the camera caught her laughing, but it also caught the look of pure love and adoration in Noah's eye as he looked at her. He knew that made him kinda girly, but he also knew that Rachel would love the picture. The fourth was of the entire group, plus Noah and Rachel's families, sitting on the back porch the day Noah announced that they were having a son. His Mom had bought a new camera with a timer on it and they had decided for a whole group shot, surprisingly it only took three shots to get it right. Noah had seen the frame in Wal-Mart, it was silver and had Family written across it, he new that it was perfect for that picture. Rachel continued to look around the room noticing things like the framed sonogram pictures hanging on the walls.

Rachel looked at Noah who was standing there with a smile on his face. "Only thing missing is the baby." He said.

Rachel laughed and rubbed her belly. "Won't be much longer."

Noah walked around the room pointing out little details like the little plastic adapters in the outlets then he pointed to the blank spot on the wall above the crib. "That," he said, "is where I am going to put the baby's name."

Rachel and the girls were all overwhelmed with everything and walked around sighing over everything.

"You do all this?" Finn asked.

"I had a little help from her dads…" he started, interrupted by a "and me" from Kurt.

"and Kurt." Noah repeated. Looking at Kurt he said, "Will you ever let me finish a sentence, without interrupting with "and me"?

Kurt laughed and accepted Rachel's hug of thanks. "Nope. I take my fun where I can get it."

Noah rolled his eyes and said, "Whatever Beyonce."

-End of Chapter-

**FYI:** I've been posting a chapter every day or so, but with Thanksgiving coming up and my sister coming in town I may not get a chance to post another chapter until next week. I'll shoot for one more, but no promises. If I don't get another one up then I wish you all a very happy turkey day.

**Don't forget! Push the Review chapter button. It's right below here. (:**


	9. Chapter 9

_**Disclaimer:**__ I own nothing, not matter how much I wish I did._

_**AN:**__ You guys are awesome!! Sorry I didn't get this put out before Thanksgiving, but I had a jam packed 4 days. I just finally got a minute to sit and write it a few minutes ago. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday. _

Chapter 9

Friday evening Rachel's cell phone rang and she looked at the screen with a smile. "Hey, Mom. What's up?"

"I was just wondering if you wanted to go shopping tomorrow morning." She said, "I have the day off and I'd like to take you shopping for some baby clothes."

Rachel accepted and hung up the phone. Noah looked at her and asked, "What was that all about?"

"You're Mom wants to go shopping. Since you're going to be working all day, I figured it would be fun way to spend the day."

Noah grunted in acknowledgement then turned his head with a smirk on his face.

Saturday morning came and Noah woke bright and early. He kissed Rachel on the cheek and drove straight to Finn's house. A few minutes later Rachel was nestled in his mom's car and they were on their way to the mall.

Noah's phone buzzed and he flipped open the screen.

Mom: Safe. At the Mall.

Noah replied quickly: Awesome

Noah looked over at Finn with a smile. "Ready?"

Yawning Finn said, "Lets go."

As Noah drove back to the house Finn sent a mass text to the other Glee members telling them that it was time.

Noah walked through the front door and her Daddy stuck his head around the corner. "Is it safe?"

"We're good." Noah said.

A few minutes later Glee arrived en mass and the day was passed in a flurry of activity. Brittney and Quinn were hanging crepe paper and Kurt was tying up balloons.

The guys were busy assembling things and Mercedes and Tina were busy wrapping and bagging things.

Rachel's Dad was busy in the kitchen making punch and cutting up fruit and cheeses, while her Daddy ran to the bakery.

By lunch time they stood back and were proud of the work that they had done.

The doorbell rang and Quinn opened the door with a smile. Squealing happily she jumped up and down then threw her arms around the person standing at the door.

*

*

Noah's mom checked her phone for the hundredth time in the span of about 15 minutes. "Is everything all right?" Rachel asked quizzically.

"Fine. I guess I'm just expecting to be called into work. I rarely get a whole weekend day off.

Rachel smiled and nodded.

Finally the text came through. After a few minutes she asked Rachel if she was ready to go.

"Yeah, I am getting a bit tired." She said. "I've had so much fun today though I hate for it to end."

"Me too."

*

*

As Noah's mom pulled up to Rachel's house she noticed all the cars parked along the road.

"Why is everyone here? It's not Sunday." Rachel asked taking catalog of whose cars she saw. One she had never seen before, but it was parked in front of her neighbor's house so she decided it must be someone for them.

Noah's mom tried to conceal her smile, so she just offered to help Rachel carry in her bags

As Rachel and her "Mom" rounded the corner into the living room with their bags everyone stood, "SURPRISE!"

Rachel looked around the room and smiled a brilliant smile, "You guys! This is so awesome." Rachel turned her head to look at Noah's Mom, "You were in on this the whole time weren't you?"

Noah's mom just replied, "Who me?" with a smile.

Rachel was led over to a chair to sit in and she started opening gifts. Diaper Genies, and wipe warmers, and a million diapers later, Rachel looked up at the last gift being held out to her by none other than the girl who had gone MIA, Santana.

Everyone held their breath as Rachel and Santana stared into one another's eyes. This could go one of two ways, Rachel would accept the gift gracefully, or she would let go a rage of hormones and scratch Santana's eyes out.

Santana was one of the reasons, she and Noah, had broken up in the beginning, when their relationship was newly forming.

Santana held her gift out to her nervously; Rachel took it with a tight smile. Santana whispered, "I heard it was a boy. I hope you like it."

Rachel opened the gift and found a small OSU jersey with the name PUCKERMAN in tiny letters on the back and Noah's jersey number underneath.

Rachel glanced around the room, even Noah looked like he was ready to jump in if he needed to. Noah eyes rapidly flicked back and forth between the mother of his child and his ex-girlfriend. He had been upset when he had seen Quinn let her in the door, but Santana had quickly straightened him out by telling him that Quinn had never invited her, but had mentioned when and where the event was occurring.

Rachel let her eyes fall back on Santana, meeting her eyes again, pushing herself up and off her chair she stood before Santana, trying to read her eyes. She wasn't sure how long they stood there in silence. Reality dictated that it was probably only a mere few seconds, but it certainly felt like an eternity. Finally, Rachel grabbed Santana in a hug and said "Thank You, I love it."

Everyone let out the breaths they had been holding.

Quinn stood quickly, "Who wants cake?"

Noah walked up to Rachel and gave her a quick kiss and placed his forehead against hers. "I love you." He whispered.

"I love you, too."

_**AN2:**_ _Don't forget to vote in the baby mama drama challenge. I have no idea how to do that, but I'll let you know if I figure it out. There are sooo many good stories that are entered. Also, don't forget to push the review button right below._


	10. Chapter 10

_**Disclaimer:**__ I own nothing. I would really like to borrow Mark Salling for a while though. _

_**AN:**__ Sorry I was slow on the update. I've been nursing a cold and a sick kid. Also, I will probably be slow on Chapter 11, because I have tests and finals all this week and next week. Cross your fingers for me. _

_We can't have Santana reappearing without a little controversy now can we? So without further adieu here is ….. _

Chapter 10

Rachel walked down the hall towards Glee. As she walked she had a sense of déjà vu. Something wasn't right. She could feel it in her stomach. As she walked to the door of the choir room she could see that the light was off. She tried to shake the awful feeling she had and reached for the light switch before stepping fully into the room. As she reached for the light she could hear the unmistakable sounds of two people making out. She looked towards the sound and her eyes narrowed, trying to focus on the dark figures at the back of the room. Flipping the switch she never blinked as the dark silhouettes of Noah and Santana came into view. She gasped and Noah jumped back immediately, the look of guilt already spread across his face and Santana smirked at her.

"Rachel." He said quickly standing.

She couldn't make herself move. She was frozen to the spot staring at him in shock, mouth agape.

"Rachel." She heard again, this time the shape his mouth took did not match the sound of her name coming out of it.

"Rachel!"

Rachel jerked awake and blinked her eyes rapidly, tears burning the back of her eyes. She swallowed past the lump in her throat and threw her arms around Noah.

"It's ok. It was just a bad dream." He whispered.

Rachel took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She could feel the baby moving in her belly and Noah rubbing her back to calm her. It was just a bad dream.

"You wanna talk about it?" Noah whispered still trying to comfort her.

Rachel just pulled him closer and shook her head against his chest.

It had all seemed so real. It was like she was reliving that awful moment so long ago all over again. Rachel laid her head on Noah's shoulder breathing in his scent and staring at the wall. She didn't want to talk about it. She knew that it would only reveal her insecurities and she was nothing if not the epitome of the most secure person to other people. She knew Noah loved her, but the illogical side wondered if, since Santana was back, he would chose to be with her again.

Noah held Rachel until she had drifted back to sleep. He sighed and kissed her temple, then snuggled behind her wrapping her in his arms. He knew what she had been dreaming, or had a good idea at least. Rachel was a talker in the day time and it seemed to follow her in her sleep as well. Noah had heard her mumble something about him and Santana, but he couldn't make it out. He figured she had probably been dreaming of what had now become known as "the incident".

The next morning Rachel was a little slow at getting up and moving around. She was tired and the bulk of her belly made it difficult to move around sometimes. Only a few more weeks to go and she would get to meet her son face to face. As thrilled as she was about the impending birth of her child, she was scared to death. Her nervousness was starting to affect everything, her voice, her studies, now her dreams.

Rachel yawned and pulled on one of Noah's many hoodies and walked slowly down the stairs. Like DMX said on that cd Noah had made her listen to once, "Same ol' shit Dog, just a different day."

* * *

Rachel and Noah made it through the first part of the week as usual. No drama, no surprises, just class as usual with a smattering of doctor's appointments and hanging out with friends thrown in for good measure. Rachel had seen Santana walking through the halls, but neither had acknowledged the other with more than a nod of the head.

Then Thursday came…

Noah was the first in the choir room that day after school. He started pulling out the chairs to set up in front of the small makeshift stage. He heard someone walk through the door and looked up expecting to find Rachel there, but instead found Santana in her Cheerios uniform. He nodded his head at her then turned back to finish the chairs.

He felt her hand on his shoulder before he heard her words, "Can we talk for a minute.?"

"Um, sure. I guess." He said standing at full attention. He didn't really want to stand here and listen to her. He had only been nice last weekend and let her stay at the party, because he was afraid that if he made a scene that it would ruin Rachel's day and she deserved to have her day.

Santana drew in a quick breath. She had forgotten how tall Noah was, and just how frighteningly big he seemed when he was standing tall like a sentinel. His arms were crossed and pulled his t shirt across his biceps. She shook her head clearing her mind; this is not why she wanted to talk to him.

"Look. I'm really sorry about everything." She said staring at the floor. "I moved away for a while to live with my dad. After we got caught….well, after Rachel found us…."

"Spit it out San." Noah said clearly frustrated.

"Well, everyone quit talking to me and I felt like an outcast." She said on a sigh, "I left because I didn't want to be the person that I felt like I had become. I went to my dad's to clear my head. After a while, I realized that it's not so much that I wanted you back, as I was jealous of the happiness that you found."

She started fidgeting a little, "You know, no girl wants to feel like she is forgotten, and maybe I was hoping that you would pine a little over me. Instead you moved on and found something really great. I'm sorry I was a part of messing that up for you."

Noah just nodded his head acknowledging her apology and let her continue.

"Quinn is the only person who even tried to stay in contact with me. She tried not to talk about all of you guys at first, but the closer you all became the more she would slip up. The more she talked about how much your friendships meant the more I realized that I wanted to be a part of that. I realized how much I missed everyone, Rachel included. I just hope you can forgive me."

Noah sighed and looked at the sad girl and reached over and gave her a quick hug. He looked up just in time to see Rachel round the corner and stop, betrayal written across her face.

Rachel turned quickly and stalked off down the hall. Noah growled, "Damn it!" and punched the wall on the way out, which on second thought wasn't such a great idea now that his knuckles were throbbing.

Kurt came to an abrupt stop as Noah had come barreling out of the doorway. Finn and Quinn walked up only seconds later to see Noah jogging down the corridor calling out Rachel's name. They all three looked into the class room and saw Santana sitting in a chair with her head in her hands.

"What did you do?" Kurt questioned harshly, just as Finn mumbled, "Not again."

* * *

Noah chased Rachel down the hall towards the auditorium. It wasn't that difficult to catch up to her as the extra baby weight slowed her diva like escape down significantly.

"Rachel, its not what it looked like." Noah said as she flung open the door to the auditorium.

"Go away Noah." Rachel mumbled as she walked up on stage.

She wasn't sure what she was doing up there on stage. She didn't want to sing, she wanted to scream. She wanted to yell at Noah about all her insecurities that had been culminating over the past few months. She wanted to cry out about how she was scared to have this baby. How she was afraid that she was losing her dreams of becoming a star. She wanted to tell him that she was so scared that the only reason he was with her now is because Santana had left the city. How she was terrified that he wouldn't want her anymore now that Santana was back. How she loved being pregnant, and the feel of her child growing and moving in her, but she was afraid everyday that Noah was going to turn her away because she was too fat and ugly.

So she did.

She stood center stage and poured her heart out. She yelled, she cried, she whispered, she shouted. She let out everything and by God it felt good. Everything that she had held in trying to keep up her perfect façade spilled from her lips in an unstoppable stream of consciousness that she wasn't sure was even understandable.

Noah stood and listened to it all, shocked that she could hold so much in for so long. He never thought that Rachel was one to hold things in, she talked so damn much, but he had never been one to talk about feelings or ask if there was anything more on her mind. Once she was on a roll he would let her go, but when she stopped he didn't want to probe, his ears were already burning from the first go round.

When she finally slowed she banged her tiny fists against his chest and Noah grabbed her hands, holding them to his chest. She leaned her forehead against his chest and rolled her face to the side. Noah let her hands go and wrapped his arms around her small body. She hiccupped on a sob and slid her arms around his waist. She needed the comfort, the feel of warmth against her body.

"I'm not going anywhere Rachel." He whispered into her hair. "You know that right?"

Rachel nodded her head against him afraid that he would disappear if she let him go.

"What happened between me and Santana a long time ago was a mistake Rach. I knew it as soon as it happened. It won't happen again. I'll never do anything like that to hurt you again. Ever. I promise." He said softly.

"You don't have to stay with me just because of the baby Noah." Rachel said trying to hold back the sobs, biting her bottom lip, the muscle in her chin twitching rapidly.

Noah grabbed her shoulders and gently pushed her away from him. Rachel wrapped her arms around herself and looked at the floor.

"Look at me Rachel." He said, "I want you to look me in the eyes when I say this."

Rachel slowly looked up and when their eyes connected they could see each others pain.

"Baby or no baby, I am with you because I wanna be." He said while staring in her eyes.

"Besides, I'm a stud. I can have any Cherrie-ho I want. Have you seen these guns? He asked striking a pose.

Rachel looked at him shocked at his last comment, and then realized by his smirk that he was joking. She let out a whisper of a laugh and Noah put his arm around her shoulders, "Are you questioning my badassness?"

Rachel laughed. "Any ol' cheerio, huh?"

"Any of them." Noah said matter of factly, "They are all the same though. You've had one, you've had them all." He smiled at her and said, "You though…There is only one of you."

_**AN:**_ _I am still trying to decide on a badass / possibly Hebrew name for the baby.. Any ideas? Please throw them out there. I will reveal the name of the baby in the last chapter of the story. _

_Also, don't forget to review. Please review, this is very important to me. I want to know how you guys feel, what you like and don't like. I can only become a better writer if I learn how to please my audience. _


	11. Chapter 11

_**Disclaimer**__: I own nothing. _

_**AN**__: Thank you guys so much for the phenomenal response I got on the last chapter. You guys are so amazing. _

_**Special Shout Out to**__**HezmanaGirl**__, she offered to beta for me if I couldn't find one, but since there will only be one more chapter after this (possibly two, but I doubt it) I won't make you suffer through beta-ing this story since it is almost over. (: On that note, can anyone tell me how to find a good beta for future stories?_

_I also want to say thank you for being so patient. I had finals last week and I couldn't focus on this story at all. I'm actually nervous about this chapter. It was very hard to write, I was trying to push through writer's block and I am afraid that it has come out sounding a bit forced. If so, I apologize I will make the next one better I promise!_

_So now to the reason you actually came to this page. Here is….._

Chapter 11

Everyone was gathered in the Glee room after school. Noah was sitting on the floor of the stage and Rachel was sitting between his legs leaning against his chest. He reached around her rubbing her stomach unconsciously. There was only two weeks left. God! How time had flown. It seemed like only yesterday he had been pacing at the end of the pharmacy aisle waiting for her to pick out a pregnancy test. He could feel her belly tighten under his hand. This Braxton Hicks stuff was a bitch. He had already rushed Rachel to the hospital twice in as many weeks because he thought for sure it was time, only to be sent back home with the instructions to drink plenty of fluids, urinate regularly and relax. What the hell did those people think she did? She was constantly drinking water and he was pretty sure she knew every place with a bathroom between home and any destination they may be headed. He was also fairly certain that she had googled that information.

Noah listened as Rachel discussed various baby names with Kurt and the girls. They still hadn't picked anything definite. She may have shot down Damian, but he was pulling for Drake now. His sister had informed him that Drake was a character on a Nickelodeon show and he had immediately discarded the idea until he had snuck a quick viewing to reassure himself that this Drake guy was at least a badass, regardless it meant dragon according to that baby name place he went to online. How cool was that?

Rachel relaxed against Noah. She loved it when he rubbed her belly. It made her feel loved and protected, like everything was right in the world. She spied a glimpse of Santana over Brittney's shoulder and tensed. She was still a little hesitant around San, but the olive branch had been extended and accepted by all parties involved. She tried to like Santana. She really did, but she just had too much stuff going on to worry about being Santana's new bff. She didn't give Santana the cold shoulder, but she didn't particularly go out of her way to be extra nice to her either. Santana cautiously met her eyes as if to ask for permission to come sit with them so she gave her a half smile and greeted her.

Before Santana could get settled Mr. Shue walked thru the door and clapped his hands, "All right guys. Let's all take a seat please."

Noah groaned as he pushed himself up then turned to help Rachel to her feet. He escorted her to a seat. Sitting beside her he sprawled out with his arm tossed across the back of her chair and his legs stretched out in front of him.

Mr. Shue looked at the kids sitting before him. He had come to think of them as his kids. He knew he had to share the guys with Coach Tanaka and some of the girls with Coach Sylvester, but ultimately he hoped that he made the most impact on their lives and that they would leave this place a better person because of the values he tried to instill in them.

"Ok. Everyone knows that Rachel will only be here for another week or so…So, this is what I want to do." He said.

"I don't want anything over the top or crazy, minimal choreography because Rachel doesn't need to bounce around too much." He looked at Rachel and said, "Nothing overly ambitious, we don't want the baby to make an arrival on the stage." Rachel smiled at Mr. Shue and Noah grimaced at the thought.

"You are going to split into groups. Guys and girls, like mash up, but it's not a mash up. I just want you guys to find a song and a suitable arrangement."

"I'm sure we can find something appropriate, Mr. Shue." Rachel assured him. He smiled and nodded. Ready to pop and still the first to put her two cents in, Mr. Shue thought to himself stifling a bit of a laugh. "I want this ready by Thursday. I know today is Monday, but I feel confident that this is something you can do with no problems. I'm not asking for anything contest worthy. This is purely recreational to keep our voices in practice."

Everyone moved into their respective groups. Kurt stared longingly at the girls after Mr. Shue told him in no uncertain terms that he was still a guy and had to participate with them as such.

The guys sat like they were in a huddle at practice. It was so typical; all of the guys were in football. Even Artie had finally been included. They had made Artie something of a gopher so that he could be included, much to Tanaka's annoyance. Tanaka had come around though when he realized Artie was actually very good at making sure everything was taken care of and he practically made Artie his right hand man.

The girls sat haphazardly around Rachel. To an untrained eye it would look like they were busy texting and touching up make up, but everyone had come to terms with the fact that the girls had some kind of organized chaos and they always came out with something magical.

The rest of class was spent in their groups. Mr. Shue eventually released the class, but no one made a move to leave. Mr. Shue finally gave up and called out a good bye and gave a little wave as he walked out of the door.

Eventually everyone got up and made their way out. This assignment was cake. Everyone knew the songs. No practice needed. They could wing it, but this gave everyone an excuse to hang out some this week.

Tuesday passed with minimal issues. Rachel was still having random false labor pains which were not uncommon for someone at such a late stage of pregnancy, but it still freaked Noah out. He was constantly on high alert. He even made it a habit to carry her pre-packed hospital bag with them wherever they went.

Wednesday they had spent the evening with their friends practicing their songs, but called it an early night when it started to look like Rachel was getting too worn out. After everyone left Rachel went upstairs to take a shower. Noah watched Rachel climb the stairs slowly, her fingers on her lower back rubbing at the stretched muscles. He was concerned about her. He knew she couldn't be feeling well. Her face was a little pale and he could see the strain in her facial expression.

Rachel stood under a warm spray positing herself so that the better part of the spray hit her lower back. She was tired and sore. Suddenly she "felt" pregnant. When the water became cold Rachel turned it off and wrapped a towel around herself. She walked to her room and pulled on a pair of Noah's sweats letting them rest just under her belly, and pulling on one of his large McKinley High t shirts.

Noah walked up the stairs towards the bedroom to tell Rachel it was time for dinner. When he opened the bedroom door he saw Rachel curled up on her side fast asleep. Noah gently shook her shoulder, when he only received a mumbled response he kissed her forehead and turned the light out on his way back downstairs.

Noah woke up before the sun was up knowing immediately that something was wrong. He realized instantly that Rachel wasn't in bed. Quietly he listened and could hear noises coming from the baby's room. He silently walked to the other room and stood in the doorway and watched as Rachel finished changing the sheets on the bed.

She jumped and turned at the sound of something behind her. She grabbed her chest with a small chuckle. "Don't sneak up on me like that."

"Sorry", Noah said walking up behind her as she smoothed the wrinkles in the sheet, "Rachel?"

"Yes?" she replied, looking up at him.

"What are you doing?" Noah asked softly.

"I couldn't sleep." She said, "I was getting restless so I decided to come in here for a few minutes, then I realized that these sheets have been on here a while so they really needed to be rewashed and I just kept finding more and more things that needed to be done."

Noah watched her finish shuffling things around then ushered her back to bed. He held her and rubbed her belly and her arms trying to help her relax. He remembered that she had been rubbing her back earlier so he lightly ran his hands up and down her back. Finally she fell asleep and he cuddled up against her, but sleep didn't come as easily to him. When the alarm finally beeped he felt like he had just dozed back off. He tried to plead with Rachel to let them go back to bed, but she was insistent. They were supposed to sing today and she wasn't going to have it any other way.

In Glee that day Noah talked to the guys about Rachel's midnight cleaning spree. Finn's eyes got huge. "Dude that means the baby is coming soon."

Noah looked at him shocked, "What?"

"My mom said that girls do this thing where they start cleaning everything before the baby comes." Finn said.

Noah looked over at Rachel who was sitting in a chair with all the girls and Kurt around her. After her odd burst of energy during the night, she seemed to be overly tired again that day.

Mr. Shue walked into the room breaking Noah's train of thought. "Guys? You ready?"

After a mumbled agreement the guys took the stage and Mike looked at Mr. Shue and reminded him that he had said it was only for fun.

Mr. Shue laughed and said "I know what I said. Go for it."

Before the song could start Noah heard a gasp and looked towards Rachel who was staring at her feet, or more accurately what she was now standing in.

"Ohmygod!" Rachel said as Noah quickly made his way to her side.

He looked from her scared eyes to the floor, "Is that…?"

Kurt paled and mumbled, "Oh! That is so gross."

Finn looking happy that he had been right earlier said, "Its time."

_**AN**_: I am in the process of sorting through all the names you all submitted. So many awesome choices! The name will be announced in the last chapter.

Again please review! Let me know what you think, the good, the bad and the fugly.


	12. Chapter 12

_AN: Before you guys read the final chapter I just want to let you know that I really appreciate all of your support and reviews. Special shout out to Kiss. Me. Pink. because without her challenge (which she picked my story as her fav. Yay!) I would have never picked up the pen to write. I would still only be reading everyone else's. Also, a Super Special Shout out to HezmanaGirl, who devoted an ungodly amount of time to helping me write and rewrite this. As a matter of fact the ending was her brainchild, mine was a lot more abrupt. Lol… She also helped pick out the baby's name which up until a day or so ago I was still fighting with myself over._

_I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as you seem to have enjoyed the rest of the story. Please review even though it is the last chapter. I'm sure HezmanaGirl will be just as curious as I am about what you think of it. _

_Enjoy!!_

_Oh yeah!! I own nothing._

**Chapter 12**

Rachel stood up and turned her chair around while the guys got into position on the stage. Before she heard the first chords being played she felt a warmth spread across her jeans as it traveled down her pants leg and dropped to the floor. She couldn't believe it; the immediate reaction was not that her water had broken, as she still had another week to go, but that she had finally lost control of her bladder. She **did** have a large baby bouncing on it all the time now. Everyone who had been standing near her backed up a step and stared at the puddle she was now standing in.

"**Ohmygod**!" she breathed as realization quickly overtook her sense of embarrassment.

Rachel looked up when she heard chairs being loudly tossed aside and saw Noah quickly making his way to her. He looked as scared as she felt.

Looking from her eyes to the floor he whispered, "Is that…?" and looked back up to see her nodding her head.

She barely heard Kurt's mumbled "Oh! That is so gross." But when Finn said "It's time." she nearly denied it.

A mild panic began to grip her mind. She saw the edges of her vision becoming black as if she now had tunnel vision, and there was a dull roar in her ears making it difficult to understand what people were saying. She watched in shock as people were talking to her, she could see their mouths moving, but she couldn't make out what was being said. She was grateful when she felt someone's warm hand take hers and she was slowly guided towards the door. She realized that it was Noah's hand only when he let it go to help her into his truck and reach across her to buckle the seatbelt.

Her vision began to slowly come back and the roar in her ears abated as Noah talked low and soothingly. Who would have thought he would be the one who didn't buckle under the pressure? There he was taking calm control of the situation!

After what seemed like hours later, yet in reality were only a few minutes, Noah screeched into the emergency lane of the hospital. He saw Quinn run through the E.R. doors as he quickly made his way to the passenger side of the car. Before he could even get Rachel fully out of the truck, Quinn was dragging a resident out of the doors with a wheelchair frantically explaining that her friend was in labor.

"How far apart are the contractions?" the man asked Noah.

"What?" Noah said looking up at the man whose badge _claimed_ his name was Ethan.

"How far apart are the contractions?" the resident asked again calmly.

"I…I don't know. She hasn't been complaining of contractions…" Noah said looking a little distressed.

"Then what makes you two think she might be in labor?" he asked Noah trying not to point out that she probably wasn't in labor if she wasn't contracting.

"Dude! Her **fucking** water broke! Right in the middle of class!" Noah snapped. He was a bit upset at being questioned, but he realized that the man was only doing his job.

Ethan nodded his head as he helped Rachel into the wheelchair and then rolled her through the doors. Stopping by admissions, he gave what little details he had and asked them to notify the maternity ward that they were on their way.

As the resident pushed Rachel through a series of hallways and then into an elevator, he asked her questions in a calm, soothing voice. He could tell she was frightened and didn't want to shift the uneasy balance the three of them had come to.

Ethan then pushed Rachel through the maternity ward doors to a nurse who now relieved him of his duty. He continued to follow along filling her in on everything that he had learned.. When he was done he gave Noah a firm pat on the back and said "Good luck, man."

The nurse settled Rachel into a room and started to hook her up to machines which caused Noah's face to show his panic. Before he could say anything, the nurse started explaining that they were only monitoring the baby's heart rate and the strength of the contractions. Noah breathed a sigh of relief and held Rachel's hand as the nurse placed an IV in her opposite arm. Rachel gripped Noah's hand tightly and decided that getting stuck with that IV needle had been the worst thing so far. She couldn't understand why she wasn't feeling the contractions yet; maybe she _had_ wet her pants. Rachel flushed at the thought and wished she could bury her head under the blankets.

"I'll be right back, ok? Oh. By the way my name is Chloe. You can push that button right there on the side of the rail if you need anything." With that Chloe walked out of the room closing the door quietly behind her.

Noah looked at Rachel as she looked at him. Their eyes met and Rachel said, "I'm okay." with a shaky smile.

Noah leaned forward and kissed her forehead, wondering how on earth he had gotten so lucky.

"Oh! Noah! Did you call my Dads and your Mom?" Rachel asked sounding frustrated.

"Not yet, but don't worry. I'll get Finn or Quinn or someone to do it in a minute. I just want to make sure you get settled in first." He replied.

After a few minutes Chloe walked back into the room laughing and said, "There is a small mob of teenagers out there demanding to know if the baby is here yet."

"Oh!" Rachel exclaimed. She hadn't even thought about them being here.

Noah dug through Rachel's hospital bag quickly and triumphantly held up the list of phone numbers he was looking for.

Chloe looked over at Noah and suggested that he go talk to his friends for a few minutes because she and Rachel had some things to do. Noah looked over at her quizzically as the nurse held up a vacuum packed cotton swab. His eyes grew large and his jaw dropped. He knew what happened when a guy was standing in a clinic and he saw one of those, but he really didn't want to know where they put it on a girl. He gave Rachel a quick kiss and told her he would be back in a while and fled the room.

Chloe laughed at Noah's hasty retreat and explained to Rachel that she had to test for the presence of amniotic fluid. Chloe carefully opened the vacuum wrapped swab and lifted the bottom of Rachel's blanket swabbing her gently. When she pulled the swab back the tip was bright blue.

"The blue color means that it's positive. Your water did break." Chloe explained. "That's good. It also means that we will definitely be keeping you in here."

The nurse walked over to all of the monitors and looked at the print out of contractions. Giving a small frown, she explained to Rachel that it wasn't unusual for someone's water to break without contracting, but it wasn't exactly common either. She left the room promising to be back in a bit to check on her and reminded her about the call button.

Noah walked into the waiting room and was bombarded by everyone wanting to know what was going on. He explained about the big cotton swab thing and he could see sympathetic expressions cross all of the guy's faces and the girls almost audible flinches. He explained that nothing much was happening yet and that he had to make a few calls. He looked over at the window of the visitor's room as he caught a glimpse of Chloe walking towards the nurse's station.

"That's Rachel's nurse. They must be finished." He said torn between making the calls and being with Rachel.

Mr. Schuester stepped over to Noah and took the list out of his hand, quickly glancing over it he realized that most of names could be crossed off the list because they were already standing here. "I'll take this. You go back with Rachel."

"I'm going too." Quinn said stepping forward.

"I don't know if…" Noah started, but Quinn was already walking down the hallway towards Rachel's room. Noah gave Mr. Schue a look of thanks and rushed out trying to catch up with Quinn.

Quinn was already in deep conversation with Chloe as he caught up to her. Being with Rachel was the only thing on his mind right then so he sidestepped them and quietly walked into the room. Rachel looked up at the sound of his footsteps.

"Hey." She said smiling, beginning to look like his Rachel again. Noah quickly went to her side and sat on the edge of the bed. "You okay?" he asked. "I'm fine." She said as she put her arm around him. "Check this out."  
She pointed to what looked like an armoire and told him to open it. He gave her a funny look, but got up and slid the doors open.

"I'll be damned." He laughed; there was a tv and dvd player in there and a small radio/ cd player. He looked back at Rachel and said laughing, "Looks like you got the Ritz."

A few minutes later she heard many footsteps shuffling through the door everyone shushing each other then chastising each other for shushing to loud. Rachel laughed as she greeted them. "Hey guys!"  
Everyone slowly walked in as if they were afraid they might break something, but when the girls surged forward giving Rachel hugs the guys seemed to relax a bit more.

Mr. Schue stepped over to Noah and let him know that everyone on the list had been contacted and her Dads and his Mom were on their way up there.

Everyone found a place to perch around the room, which was actually bigger than a regular room, with way more seating available, but it was still too small for everyone to be in there at once. After everyone visited for a while Mr. Schuester rounded everyone up and pushed them through the door. Everyone moved to exit except Quinn, who steadfastly refused to leave Rachel's side.

Mr. Schuester decided that everyone would come back to his house while they waited and someone would call him when it was time so that it would cut down on call times.

Rachel and Noah's parents were walking through the door as Mr. Shuester was ushering the last of the kids out. He shook their hands and congratulated the three of them and Noah's sister. Mr. Schue stopped Noah's mom who had introduced herself as Ruth and asked if she would like him to take Hannah, Noah's sister with him. Ruth gave him a skeptical look and Mr. Schue held up his hands and laughed, then pointed to the mass of kids standing behind him and said, "They are all going back to my place and I know Hannah is like a sister to everyone of them."

The kids all waved enthusiastically to Noah's mom who had become a central figure in all of their lives so Ruth gave in and agreed that this could take a while and it would be a good distraction for her.

Walking into the room, Ruth saw Rachel hooked up to the machines and looked them over noticing nothing out of the ordinary; she reached down to give Rachel a hug and then went over to her son.  
"You ok?" she asked.  
"I think so." He said not quiet confident in his answer, but knowing there was no other choice because he had to be strong for Rachel.

Ruth walked over to Hannah and explained that she would be going with Mr. Shuester until everything started happening. Although Hannah was disappointed that she had to leave Quinn pointed out that "Uncle Artie" was going to be there to. Artie was her favorite because he let her ride in the wheelchair with him and he could do wheelies down the hall with her in his lap.

Mr. Schuester asked Quinn if she was sure about not coming too. She said, "Look around this room - if I leave Rachel now, she and Mrs. Puckerman, will be outnumbered. She needs my feminine presence."

Mr. Schue nodded and gave a quick wave and walked back through the door with Hannah running in front of him towards Artie and the others.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Several hours in and Rachel was no closer to having a baby than she had been when she first arrived. She had walked up and down the halls, to the cafeteria, and around the buildings hoping to induce labor naturally, but still no contractions. The nurse explained to them that because Rachel's water had broken there was a risk of infection after 24 hours and they were going to have to induce her labor to help push her along. Rachel begrudgingly agreed that it would be necessary in order to move the process forward and allowed the nurse to give her the drug.

Rachel wasn't stupid; she had done her reading during her pregnancy. She had devoured anything and everything she could get her hands on. She had debated with herself over having a natural childbirth and all the options that entailed and she had considered medications. She knew from her reading that having the drug she had agreed on would increase the amount of pain she would feel during contractions, not that those contractions would be any easier to deal with. After a while the contractions started -slowly, but surely increasing in speed and discomfort.

Quinn rotated with everyone in holding Rachel's hand and trying to comfort her while staying in nearly constant contact with everyone in Glee. She was very thankful that everyone was at Mr. Schuester's house because it made updating everyone that much easier.

Mr. Schue was glad that his wife had made an impromptu trip with her sister to visit their mother. That made his life a lot easier when he brought a truck load of kids home. He set them all up in the small living room with movies and everyone pitched in to order pizzas. Hot topic of the day though was no surprise. _When was Rachel gonna squeeze out the little Puckerman?_ Matt started taking bets. $5.00 per bet and the closest person to the time without going over won. Everyone partook in the pot including Noah's little sister who was fronted money by none other than "Uncle Artie". Mr. Shue recorded the bets on a piece of paper to make everything official and even included $5.00 of his own. He looked at the clock and recorded the time of the bets at 8:04pm.

_The list read: Finn- 10:05 p.m., Kurt-11:00 p.m., Santana- 11:15p.m., Matt-11:30 p.m., Mike-2:00 a.m., Mercedes-2:05 a.m., Brittany-3:35 a.m., Will- 5:30 a.m., Artie- 5:45 a.m., Tina-6:13 a.m., Hannah- 9:00 a.m.._

Will held up the official list for everyone's final approval, and then dropped the cash in a bowl on the counter. The list was placed on the coffee table in the living room and as the hours rolled by someone would mark off a name as their time period lapsed.

~*~*~*~

Around midnight Rachel was in a considerable amount of pain. She was no where near screaming-your-head-off pain, but it was extremely uncomfortable and she started wondering how she ever thought an IV was all that bad when she had first arrived.

The nurse could tell Rachel was holding in the bulk of her discomfort and told her about a medication that would help her relax. As it turned out it was a blessing in disguise. The nurse was absolutely right. She could still feel the pain of her contractions as if she was having natural childbirth, but she just didn't care. As soon as the pain was over she floated off then was happy and relaxed until the next one came. She felt loopy and a bit out of control, but in the end it was helping her sleep and relax and after already being in the hospital since late afternoon she was ready for a little rest.

As Rachel faded in and out she could hear snatches of conversation. The most poignant being the piece when she overheard the conversation between the nurse and Ruth. Ruth was an ER nurse at the same hospital so it was only expected that she would discuss things in depth with her nurse.

"She just isn't progressing like she should", Chloe told Ruth who answered, "I know. She really wants this to be as natural as possible though. We have a few more hours that we can hold out right?"

"I can try to talk to the doctor, but you know how that goes sometimes." Rachel heard as she faded back out.

Rachel opened her heavy lids and saw Noah slumped on a chair beside her with his head on the bed and Ruth and her Daddy leaning on opposite ends of the couch. Just then Quinn and her Dad walked in holding cups of what smelled like coffee and saw her looking around the room.

"Morning, Honey." Her Dad whispered.

"Morning, Dad" She said, her throat feeling scratchy, "What time is it?"

"Around 6:30" he replied walking over to her as she scrunched up her face as another contraction hit. She gasped as the pain gripped her and moaned loudly. Noah's head shot up and he grabbed her hand, mumbling comforting words almost as if on auto pilot.  
Everyone was roused by the sounds of her pain. Ruth walked over and rubbed her arm then went to talk to the nurse.

Chloe walked to the room with Ruth and sat down beside Rachel's bed. She took her hand and explained to her that while her contractions were strong and consistent, her son just didn't seem like he wanted to come out. She wasn't progressing as quickly as she needed to be able to deliver within the 24 hour period they had talked about earlier and the doctor was considering the need for a cesarean. Rachel looked stricken as she let the news sink in as she she looked over at Noah.

"This is your fault! If you weren't always late for every damn thing!" she hissed.

Noah looked shocked at her sudden attack and opened his mouth to point out that technically his son was a week early, but a quick glance at his mother made him shut his mouth. The look she gave made him remember that Rachel was struggling with a lot of pressure both physically and mentally right now.

"I don't feel _too_ funny right now." Rachel noted to Chloe almost absentmindedly. The nurse let her know that they had lowered her dosage of the pain meds so that she could be more coherent and in control when a decision had to be made. Rachel nodded her head then closed her eyes tightly and gripped her belly as another contraction rolled through.

"The only other option is an epidural at this point. You won't be able to feel anything other than the pressure of the contractions. There won't be any pain." said Chloe.

Rachel nodded her head again in understanding and asked for a few minutes to decide.

Ruth went immediately to Rachel's side and explained everything as best as she could. Rachel nodded and whispered back and forth with Ruth, weighing the pros and cons. Ruth looked at her in the eyes and reminded her that it didn't matter how her grandson came into this world, as long as he got there safe and sound with his mother just as healthy, then she hugged her.

Rachel nodded her head and told Ruth to tell Chloe that she would try the epidural first. The thought of her lower half being deadened frightened her but the thought of almost her entire body being like that scared her even more.

A few minutes after 7:00 a.m. the anesthesiologist came into the room and everyone was asked to leave. Ruth ushered everyone out and Chloe helped Rachel sit on the edge of the bed leaning forward. Chloe took the scared girl in her arms and held her through the sharp stick and reminded her not to move when she could feel the pressure of the tube being eased into her back. When it was done Chloe helped her turn back around on the bed and cover her.

Rachel's legs felt heavy and everything felt different. The anesthesiologist stayed in the room during her next couple of contractions and surprisingly she felt no pain. The pressure was there. It was almost like having Braxton Hicks again.

Quinn was in the waiting room updating Finn with the latest information. She told him that they had given Rachel an epidural, but they still weren't sure how long it would be. Finn heaved a heavy sigh and marked Tina off the list. He told Quinn that they were all finishing up breakfast and would be there shortly.

As soon as Quinn hung up the phone Chloe came to the room to tell everyone that Rachel was ready for them to come back in.

Chloe came back to check Rachel's progress just after 8:00 a.m. and looked at her with a wide smile.

"It's time" she said smiling.

She ushered Rachel's Dads out of the room. Ruth followed after giving Rachel a kiss on her forehead. Quinn and Noah took their places at the head of Rachel's bed, each holding a hand.

As Rachel's Dads walked by the nurses' station they saw the kids coming up the hallway. They met the kids and Mr. Schuester at the swinging doors and told them what was happening. Everyone cheered and tried to talk over one another as they settled into the waiting room for the final arrival.

The doctor walked in immediately and smiled at Rachel. "Let's have this baby" she said.

Rachel was ready. She pushed and strained and breathed and grunted. There was no way to be ladylike with your knees around your ears as far as she was concerned so she gave it all she was worth. A little over forty minutes of pushing and the doctor laid a perfect and slimy little boy on Rachel. The tears slid down Rachel's eyes as she carefully touched her sons tiny little fingers and she watched his chin quiver as he screamed for all the world to hear. After only a moment, the doctor took him back telling her that they had to clean him up.

Noah had his forehead pressed to Rachel's and he kissed the tip of her nose when the doctor asked if he wanted to cut the cord. Noah stood and walked towards the doctor and his son as the color drained from his face and he felt a sudden chill in the air. Soon after he felt a line of sweat form across his forehead. He could barely hear the doctor say "I think he's going." before he shook the fog from his mind. Noah took a couple of deep breaths and took the scissors from the doctor.

The doctor smiled at him and said, "I thought we lost you there for a minute."

Noah looked at the doctor and said, "Hell, no! It'll take more than that to put _me_ out."

Noah listened to the doctor's instructions then quickly and carefully cut his son's cord. He knew it would turn into a perfect bellybutton, because that was just how good he was.

Noah went back to Rachel after he cut the cord and they quietly talked to one another. Quinn wandered over to the nurse cleaning the baby and said, "Oh. My. God." Then looked over at the two new parents her eyes wide.

"What?" Rachel asked concern written across her face.

"I'd never believe it if I hadn't seen it for myself." she said laughing.

"What is it?" Rachel asked again trying to sit up and look across the room to her son.

The nurse handed Quinn the baby to take to Rachel. When she settled him into his mother's arms she carefully pulled the cap off to reveal his little round head covered in hair. Amazingly, he had a thick center strip of hair that was much longer than the rest, and when the baby's cap came off it made that little tuft of hair stand straight up. Rachel laughed until she cried. Noah's smile widened as he reached up and unconsciously stroked his own Mohawk before running a hand over his son's which even with the pressure of his hand, stubbornly stood back up. Quinn gave them both hugs and kissed the baby's head then left the room to announce the baby's arrival.

Quinn walked into the waiting room with a huge smile on her face. When she opened the door everyone stood expectantly. She glanced around the room then announced, "8:54!"

"Yes!" Hannah said pumping her arm up and down. Everyone smiled at her. Finn ruffled her hair and asked "How'd you figure that?"

With only the logic a child could have she looked at him and said, "He might be an earlybird like Rachel, but there was no way he was gonna get here before the sun came up." Hannah smiled and held out her hand to Mr. Schue as he deposited her winnings in her hands. She quickly stuffed it into her pockets with a wicked grin.

Everyone followed Quinn back into the room and greeted Noah and Rachel with a hug or kiss. Ruth walked up and took the baby and snuggled him as Rachel's dads walked over to kiss their daughter. Her daddy quickly pulled out the camera and started snapping pictures of the newest arrival. Kurt, though,wouldn't be satisfied until he knew one thing.

"Did you name him Kurt?" he asked grinning.

Everyone quickly settled down and turned towards the bed where Rachel and Noah were seated, a single question in all of their eyes. Noah walked to Quinn, who had managed to wrestle the baby from Mercedes, and took him back to his mother. He leaned over so she could kiss her baby's tiny cheek. He smiled down at her then looked at everyone while he held up his son.

"I would like for all of you to meet our son Noah Asher Puckerman, Junior." he said proudly.

Rachel continued. "We're going to call him Asher because it means _blessing and_ that is what he is to us. A blessing."

_AN: Don't forget to push the button at the bottom of the page so you can tell me what you thought. (:_


	13. Epilogue

_AN: Thank you all so much for all of your support throughout this story. This story was only intended to be a one shot, but with all of your support and encouragement you helped make this into a story that I am very proud to have written. Now with the public demand for a sequel and my beta's encouragement to do one there will be a sequel. However, because my beta had the most awesome storyline for it and my classes are starting again on Thursday I am not going to have the time to put into writing what I feel will be a quality sequel so my most awesome beta and new bestest ever writing friend, HezmanaGirl, has agreed to take over the story's sequel. She has created a new profile under the name of StarsAreAMetaphor, which we are going to share and publish the sequel under. I will still be very much involved in the sequel, but I am taking over role as beta and idea giver. (: I hope you enjoy reading the epilogue as much as I did since HezmanaGirl has now officially taken over. I hope you all show her the same support that you have shown me. Again thank you all very much!!_

Epilogue for "At Least She's Jewish"

After the announcement of the baby's name the Glee kids got the hint that Puck and Rachel, as well as Asher, needed some time alone. Rachel's multiple theatrical yawns and Puck's raised eyebrow with accompanying head gestures toward the door made it pretty obvious. One by one, they filed out of the room congratulating the couple and promising to return the following day.

"About time! I thought I was going to have pull the fire alarm to get them out of here!" Puck exclaimed.

He sat down on the chair next to the bed and held Rachel's hand while he watched his son sleep. He traced the infant's face with the side of his index features following the jaw line, the bridge of the nose, under his eyes and then gently touching the tiny ears.

"He's just **breathtaking**, isn't he Noah?" she sighed. She wasn't trying to be superlative but the warm, sleeping boy did do just that - he took her breath away. From the dark tuft of hair that resembled his father's all the way down to his delicate toes, her son amazed her. She had enjoyed being pregnant and feeling his kicks. She had watched her body slowly change preparing for his birth and how much Noah had enjoyed the subtle differences. Of course there had been moments she wished she could have gone without, but most of her pregnancy had been easy. Now that he was here with them and not just something that was going to happen she knew her life would be taking a drastic change. As Rachel continued to watch Asher sleep she felt a grin creep across her face and a small giggle escape her lips.

"What? What are you thinking of, Rachel Berry? Should I be concerned?" Noah quirked an eyebrow and looked at the smiling girl.

"I can't believe **_we _**made him! I see your eyes, your lips and my nose in front of me but my brain just can't seem to take it in." she whispered. "Who would have thought something so little and new would do that?"

Noah nodded in agreement. "It's definitely crazy to finally see him after waiting for so long and wondering what he'd look like. Of course, since we're two good looking Jews it only makes sense we'd have such a good looking son. Seriously, Rach. Look at him! He'll definitely need to be watched carefully once he starts preschool and he's introduced to girls."

Rachel rolled her eyes and playfully swatted his arm. "Noah! Don't add to the list of worries I already have!"

The new parents continued to watch their son sleep until the door opened and one of the nurses returned to take Asher down to the nursery. They were so focused on their son they hadn't realized how wiped out they really were.

"We can do this, Rach." he said confidently. "I know it won't be easy, but I'm in it for the long haul. We're a family now and I'm not going anywhere. I promise."

* * *

Looking back on the birth of their son, Noah Puckerman remembered this conversation as a turning point in their relationship. They had been scared kids when Asher was born but in the almost five years since then they had definitely grown up…

_AN: Don't forget to review and watch out for the sequel, "Patience is for Amateurs" by StarsAreAMethaphor. It is the official At Least She's Jewish sequel, with my shiny stamp of approval. (:_


End file.
